I live in California. My husband and I are getting a divorce. In 1992 my husband's brother-in-law died and left his house and property to my husband. He put the property up for sale after we both worked months and months cleaning the place up. It sold and my husband put the monies from the sale of the house into our joint checking account. A short time later we paid off the mortgage on our house with part of the funds from his monies. In 2008, I filed for divorce. He contends I owe him the money he used to pay off our mortgage.
I realize in California, inheritance, gifts, etc. are separate property. But is it still separate if he puts it into a joint checking account?:confused:

Thank you all for any comments!! :)

I don't know the California law but if I spent months and months on cleaning up the place for sale I'd be asking for reimbursement for that time and work if he wants to persist on getting "his" money. It is wrong that a husband should get a monetary reward at the expense of the labor of his wife. You should probably advise your divorce attorney about this aspect and see what he advises or can do about. Good luck